Jet Ski Fail
Last Thursday, after trips on two successive days to buy licenses for the jet skis, we finally got them out on the water.
Why two trips, you might ask. In Washington, the state doesn't send individualized renewal notices for watercraft. Instead, since they all renew in June, they send generic postcards reminding you to go renew your tabs. Since the cards have no identifying information, when you go to renew, you either have to know your boat registration number or remember to write it down so the licensing agent can look it up.
Full disclosure: We did neither of those things. Instead, when we got there, the agent looked the jet skis up by our names and address (one is licensed to Chuck and the other to me). Unfortunately, when she looked up Chuck's jet ski, she found our boat. Then, when she asked if it was a 2013, it didn't ring a bell for either of us that she'd found the wrong watercraft. The other clue should have been the total amount, but that didn't serve as a warning to us either.
We were almost home before we realized the error and, since we didn't feel like driving back to Davenport that day, we had to go the next. Which we did and we were so excited to get out on the lake yesterday. It had been over 100 degrees the past two days, and the lake had been smooth as glass...perfect jet skiing weather!
The launch went smoothly (not always a given since I can never remember which way to turn the handle bars to go left or right when my jet ski is in reverse). The lake wasn't as calm as it had been the previous two days, but there weren't any white caps, so all was good. (I draw the line at jet skiing when there are white caps.)
We headed out to a particular beach up river where there's an apricot tree right on the shore. We wanted to see if there were any apricots left, so we went straight there without stopping. My best guess is it's between five and seven miles east of the boat launch at Spring Canyon.
When we got there, we were disappointed to see that the apricots were long gone. After a moment of mourning, we decided to head back downstream to Plum Point. There's a boat dock there and we'd noticed that it was empty when we passed by.
As we went to leave, disaster struck! Chuck hit some rocks with his jet ski and went dead in the water. Like the-engine-won't-even-turn-over dead. Thankfully, Chuck had stocked both jet skis with rope and he was able to rig a tow line.
We got underway going very slowly. As I mentioned, the lake was a little rough and Chuck was afraid his jet ski would go nose down and sink, pulling my ski down with it. So we puttered along at idle speed, something like one to two miles an hour.
We were pleasantly surprised when a pair of pleasure boats passed us, then turned around and came back to check on us. They offered a tow, which we declined, but it's gratifying to know that most people really are good and want to help when they can.
Shortly after that, the wind died down and we were able to continue on in "no wake mode," or about five miles an hour. It was still slow going, but at least I couldn't feel his jet ski pulling me backwards when the waves hit it just so.
When we finally reached the boat launch - after nearly two hours - we beached both jet skis. Chuck back the trailer down the ramp and we pulled his ski on using the ropes; then he ran mine onto the trailer. After cinching everything down, we were on our way.
Once we were back at the house, Chuck took the intake grill off his jet ski and found two rocks lodged in the propeller. There didn't seem to be any damage so we're hopeful that it will run now that the impeller can turn freely.
A few take aways from yesterday. First, we need to carry actual tow straps. The rope we had worked, but it wasn't confidence inspiring.
Second, it would be a good idea to carry knives with us. If there's been any kind of emergency on the way back requiring us to separate the skis, we wouldn't have been able to do so quickly. Much better to be able to cut the tow line.
Last, if Chuck's jet ski had sunk for any reason, we would have lost the key to our tow vehicle, so we need a way to carry a spare key in a secure pocket.
Update: We took the jet skis out yesterday, fingers crossed that Chuck's would run. It started right up and performed flawlessly! We were both relieved.
Why two trips, you might ask. In Washington, the state doesn't send individualized renewal notices for watercraft. Instead, since they all renew in June, they send generic postcards reminding you to go renew your tabs. Since the cards have no identifying information, when you go to renew, you either have to know your boat registration number or remember to write it down so the licensing agent can look it up.
Full disclosure: We did neither of those things. Instead, when we got there, the agent looked the jet skis up by our names and address (one is licensed to Chuck and the other to me). Unfortunately, when she looked up Chuck's jet ski, she found our boat. Then, when she asked if it was a 2013, it didn't ring a bell for either of us that she'd found the wrong watercraft. The other clue should have been the total amount, but that didn't serve as a warning to us either.
We were almost home before we realized the error and, since we didn't feel like driving back to Davenport that day, we had to go the next. Which we did and we were so excited to get out on the lake yesterday. It had been over 100 degrees the past two days, and the lake had been smooth as glass...perfect jet skiing weather!
We headed out to a particular beach up river where there's an apricot tree right on the shore. We wanted to see if there were any apricots left, so we went straight there without stopping. My best guess is it's between five and seven miles east of the boat launch at Spring Canyon.
When we got there, we were disappointed to see that the apricots were long gone. After a moment of mourning, we decided to head back downstream to Plum Point. There's a boat dock there and we'd noticed that it was empty when we passed by.
As we went to leave, disaster struck! Chuck hit some rocks with his jet ski and went dead in the water. Like the-engine-won't-even-turn-over dead. Thankfully, Chuck had stocked both jet skis with rope and he was able to rig a tow line.
We got underway going very slowly. As I mentioned, the lake was a little rough and Chuck was afraid his jet ski would go nose down and sink, pulling my ski down with it. So we puttered along at idle speed, something like one to two miles an hour.
We were pleasantly surprised when a pair of pleasure boats passed us, then turned around and came back to check on us. They offered a tow, which we declined, but it's gratifying to know that most people really are good and want to help when they can.
Shortly after that, the wind died down and we were able to continue on in "no wake mode," or about five miles an hour. It was still slow going, but at least I couldn't feel his jet ski pulling me backwards when the waves hit it just so.
 |
| You know it's been a bad day when you find these in your propeller. |
A few take aways from yesterday. First, we need to carry actual tow straps. The rope we had worked, but it wasn't confidence inspiring.
Second, it would be a good idea to carry knives with us. If there's been any kind of emergency on the way back requiring us to separate the skis, we wouldn't have been able to do so quickly. Much better to be able to cut the tow line.
Last, if Chuck's jet ski had sunk for any reason, we would have lost the key to our tow vehicle, so we need a way to carry a spare key in a secure pocket.
Update: We took the jet skis out yesterday, fingers crossed that Chuck's would run. It started right up and performed flawlessly! We were both relieved.
Comments
Post a Comment